Suicide Bombing Kills at Least 6 in Somalia

The site of a car bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Monday. The Shabab claimed responsibility.CreditCreditFeisal Omar/Reuters

By The Associated Press

Sept. 10, 2018

NAIROBI, Kenya — A suicide bomber detonated explosives on Monday in a vehicle at the gate of district headquarters in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, killing at least six people, the authorities said.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein of the police said the large blast had badly damaged the headquarters of the Hodan District.

The Aamin Ambulance service said that at least six people had died and that 16 others were wounded. Captain Hussein said most of the victims were district workers and soldiers.

It was the second significant attack on seats of government in the capital this month. At least six people, including two children, were killed at Howlwadag District headquarters on Sept. 2, shattering a period of calm in the city

The car bombings have continued despite the installation of multiple checkpoints and the presence of hundreds of soldiers who inspect vehicles entering the city. The government has also blocked most back streets as part of a security strategy intended to prevent attacks.

Somali troops are expected to take full control of security in the country in the coming years, a task currently held by the African Union. But concerns about their readiness remain high.

The United Nations Security Council recently voted to delay the reduction of troops in the African Union force to February, instead of next month, and to push the transfer of security to Somali forces to December 2021.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A9 of the New York edition with the headline: Suicide Blast By Militants Kills Six In Somalia. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe